Maharashtra Crisis: Shiv Sena top leader Eknath Shinde missing with several MLAs
Mumbai: A political crisis is brewing in the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra threatening its majority in the assembly with Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde going missing with about 10 to 13 MLAs since Monday’s legislative council elections.
Media reports said Shinde has reportedly checked into a hotel in Gujarat's Surat with the legislators bringing to fore a rebellion in the party and amid allegations of cross-voting by some Shiv Sena MLAs earlier.
The Shiv Sena has trained its guns on the BJP for the development accusing it of trying to topple the Thackeray government.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut told mediapersons that BJP won't success since "Shiv Sena is a party of loyalists."
"We won't let that happen," he said as quoted in media.
Media reports said Shinde could be addressing the media in the afternoon in Surat.
India Today has shared a list of leaders rumoured to be with Shinde.
They are Prakash Surve, Mahesh Shinde, Sanjay Shinde, Sanjay Bangar, Tanaji Sawant, Sandeepan Bhumre, Abdul Sattar (MoS), Dnyaneshwar Chougule, Shambhuraj Desai (Mos Home), Bharat Gogawale, Sanjay Rathod, Sanjay Raimulkar, Independent MLA Chandrakant Patil and Member of Parliament Dr Shrikant Shinde (Eknath Shinde's son)
UNI adds:
The BJP won five seats in the MLC election with Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party bagging two each.
BJP managed to win big in the election despite being short in numbers.
There are 106 BJP MLAs in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, while the remaining votes for its candidates have either come from independent MLAs, or those from small parties or from other parties.
Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray have called for an urgent meeting of all party MLAs on Tuesday noon.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.